Project M
by GodShipping
Summary: (Pre-Xenoblade Chronicles universe, Xenoblade spoilers) Orbiting around the Earth is a space station full of various professionals that are all collaborating on Project M. The two heads of this project are working against an impending deadline, and their time is running out in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1

The soft clacking of keys echoed down the dark empty hall.

The space station was asleep, all except for one who was in the main programming room sitting in front of one of the large monitors lining the wall. The normally organized and sterile room was dimly lit from the one monitor, showing some disorganized papers on the console and floor around the man. A few boxes and snack wrappers were scattered about as well, a man can't work on no food of course. He leaned forward, slouching worse than he already was, inspecting lines upon lines of code. Something had been entered wrong and he needed to find it as fast as possible. His azure eyes flicked to a crumpled paper tossed to the side of his keyboard. If one tried, they could still make out the words "NOTICE" in bold red print, as well as "cancellation" and "reduced funding" in smaller black print further down on the page. There was no way in hell he was going to let all their hard work go to waste; even if he had to work 23 hours a day every day until the deadline. He at least needed a nap once in a while, it would be foolish to think otherwise. The others on this project were hard workers too, he admitted to himself, and he knew that with **everyone**'s combined effort, this could be completed.

**Everyone.**.. A figure flashed in his mind, a woman with mid-back length hair wearing a lab coat with a red dress underneath. He hadn't seen her as much lately, though he had been distracted to be fair. He needed her help most of all; she was fast and clever and the only other supervisor on the project.

_*CLANK* _

He was stirred from his thoughts by a sound from down the hall. He shuffled the papers on the floor into a pile with his foot and made his way to the break area. A warm cup of coffee might do him some good anyway, his eyes were starting to cross from the lines upon lines of E.T.H.E.R., the special code that was written specifically for this project.

As he rounded the corner, he saw her. She was gingerly shutting a cabinet door in an attempt to keep noise to a minimum, and shushing the machine as it steamed and brewed half a pot full of delicious fresh coffee. He breathed in the aroma and sighed a "Thank god," as he walked to the sink to grab a clean mug. She jumped aside, clearly startled. Not expecting anyone, least of all- "Klaus! What.. what are you doing?"

"Shouldn't I be asking the same?" he mumbled vaguely in her direction as he poured sugar and coffee into his mug simultaneously, topping it off with creamer and stirring it lightly with one of those tiny straws.

"Well I..." She was stopped by his hand gesturing for her cup, which she uneasily handed over and he filled for her; thinking to herself, how uncharacteristically nice...

He stared at her as he held the cup out. "Take it. Thank you... For making the coffee." He cupped his mug with both hands and took a drink of the warm life-giving liquid. "You never answered the question."

She furrowed her brow and took the cup, muttering a thanks and reminding him that he didnt answer her first as she took a sip.

He grimaced, '_how can anyone drink coffee plain...'_ he thought. He turned and began walking back to the large room where the code and his snacks were waiting for him. "Couldn't sleep. Decided to get some work done."

She walked after him.

She knew he was lying, he always looked away when he lied. She also knew how much it stressed him out; the news that the station was being shut down at the end of the month. They had all protested, but there was nothing to be done. "Me too... I mean, I was so tired this afternoon I went to bed early so I thought I should get up and finish what I can..." she explained as they approached the wall of monitors.

He nodded, and began compiling his mess of papers into a single pile on the console, shuffling the empty wrappers to the trash can and settling back into his chair.

She powered up her usual console a few feet down from his, and grabbed a few papers from the pile and a pack of snacks; an action at which he slightly narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Shuffling through the papers, she decided which bug to look for and grabbed her favorite red pen with the little gold crown on the clicker to mark the papers as she went through them.

"You should keep better track..." she muttered as she marked the papers; some of these bugs had already been worked out! There was no time to waste looking for problems that were already solved.

"Well excuse me, your highness..." he mumbled as he continued where he left off, eyes darting back and forth quickly as he tabbed down line after line of code. "THERE," he very nearly shouted, maneuvering the curser with the arrow keys to the line and fixing the mistake. He had been so close before and hadn't seen it? He peered out his peripheral at the woman who was now straightening the papers and opening a few windows on her monitor. She hadn't even been phased, she was most definitely used to it by now. He extended his arm toward her and wiggled his fingers, demanding the pen she had finished using. She moved it away from him, "You'll lose it." She stated simply, not even looking away from her monitor.

"OH come _on_, I don't have any... I need to keep track, right?" He pouted a bit, turning to stare at her with his arm out toward her. She sighed and placed it in his hand, "Fine but give it back immediately."

He smiled a smug little smile and marked the paper. He was glad she was here. He always found what he needed when she was here, and in general he sort of... felt better. He returned the pen and began preparing his desktop for the next issue when his partner suddenly collapsed, knocking over her chair and scattering the papers she had.

"Meyneth? MEYNETH!" He was hyperventilating and panicking slightly. Okay more than slightly. Immensely. _What do I do?! Don't move her, call for help, check on her, tell someone, get some ice, what do I do? What do I do?_ He hit the intercom button and sent a page to the entire station,

"DOCTOR TO THE MAIN PROGRAMMING ROOM, I NEED A DOCTOR IN THE MAIN PROGRAMMING ROOM _NOW_!"  
Everything was in slow motion but time was passing quicker than normal?

He put his coat under her head and looked her over worriedly; she wasn't convulsing and she didn't seem to be hurt... what happened? A doctor came into the room within the next few minutes, and a nurse followed shortly after to help get her to the infirmary.

Klaus couldn't follow since they would have to do tests, he could only sit in the waiting room. He decided his time would be better spent working out more issues with their project. It had to be exhaustion or dehydration, something that wasn't too serious and Meyneth should be fine after some rest. He assured himself of that and went back to work. Looking through the freshly marked papers, he realized there were considerably less issues than he had thought. They might even be able to begin testing by the end of the day! He should've been more excited about that, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He was just worried... uselessly worried! When I_ could be getting things done_, he reminded himself. He gulped the rest of his coffee and got back to work.

[ Thank you for reading! This is my first story in a long while, I welcome any comments or suggestions. Please give me the strength to continue writing! ]


	2. Chapter 2

She awoke with a start, her silver eyes scanning the room as she begun to remove the white sheet and blanket that covered her. The sterile environment inside the medical facility was so familiar by this point, but still she couldn't find it comfortable. "Doctor..." She began, but he was already pulling back the section of curtains and approaching her bed. He was tall and tan with short cropped black hair, dark brown eyes and wire-rimmed glasses. "Don't move yet," he quietly commanded, turning on his handheld light and waving it in front of her eyes; testing her reflexes, she knew.

"We had to put in a pacemaker," he stated as he continued to confirm that her current state was satisfactory. "It shouldn't interfere with the other supportive instruments in your body, but if you think something is wrong come back here immediately." He removed the IV and other wires constricting her movement before sliding his glasses off and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Meyneth... We have to send you back. The pacemaker is a temporary fix but you need major surgery and we can't do it here. You cannot put this off anymore."

Shocked didn't even begin to cover it; she was devastated. Her eyes stung with the tears she couldn't cry, her tear ducts had been damaged ever since she received the ocular implants. "I understand, I'd hoped my... condition wouldn't cause too much of a problem, but with all the work you and the other staff have done... Soon I'll be more machine than human." She smiled sadly then shifted her legs over the side of the bed and gathered up her belongings that had been brought to the room after the surgery.

"You've done well." He'd returned the glasses to his face and was filling out forms on a clipboard for her dismissal. "Now it's time to take care of yourself, the shuttle back will leave tomorrow." She nodded and, after thanking him, returned to her quarters. Her mind was racing; the doctor had told her to take it easy but she couldn't help be overwhelmed by the utter frustration and disappointment of having to leave... her co-workers... their project...

_Klaus_

She frowned and shook her head rapidly, as if trying to remove the errant thoughts. _Klaus will be just fine, and he'll make sure the project gets done. _She finished boxing up her clothes and what few belongings she'd been allowed to bring aboard. Suddenly her friend and teammate burst through the door, her short auburn hair tousled and her olive green colored eyes wide behind her thin rectangular glasses. "YOU'RE LEAVING?" She exclaimed more than asked; she'd never been one for tact.  
Meyneth took a deep breath and nodded. "The doctor says I have to go back..."

"Gee, you really can't even wait? Oh man, what are we gonna do?" She slumped to the floor, panting. She obviously ran here as fast as she could. "There's no way... we might as well go back too!"  
Meyneth sat up and dropped her box, clenching her fists in front of her. "DON'T YOU DARE!" she shouted, startling her friend. Meyneth was too worn down to even entertain such capriciousness, not today. "I'd give anything to be able to stay and finish this with everyone, so don't you dare give up!"

"Meyneth it's impossible, fate's just stacked against us..."

"Get out, I have to pack."

"Meyneth, please understand-"

"_Leave!_"

She shut the door behind her friend and rested her forehead on the cool metal. She felt a little guilt, reacting like that, but it was best she kicked her out now than say something she really regretted. _How could she say such things... _She wiped her eyes, mostly out of habit, and repacked her things that had fallen onto the floor before leaving her room and heading off to work... for the last time.

She rounded a corner and stopped on her toes, barely avoiding the taller blond man in front of her. "Meyneth! I heard you were released, took you long enough." His speech was haughty as always but he looked relieved... and tired! "We've gotta get to work, let's go." Without thinking, he grabbed her hand and started to drag her along while explaining everything he'd done while she'd been gone.  
"-The containment ring has even been stabilized," he continued, "We'll begin testing today!" He stopped to look back at her; she could feel the heat on her cheeks and she was squeezing his hand tightly.

"Klaus..." She raised her eyes to meet his, almost choking on her words.

He quickly released her hand and stepped away, now blushing himself. "S-sorry, you really should walk faster. Let's-"

"I'm leaving tomorrow." She stared into his eyes and watched the confusion play on his face. "My health is... I can't..." She tried to explain, but her anguish was overwhelming.

"Why?" His forehead was scrunched and he was shaking his head back and forth, trying to make sense of it. "You seem fine, you were released from the clinic. I know you've had some problems before but everyone has a bionic enhancement or two these days. You... You can't just _leave._"

"I don't have a choice..."She tried to smile and hoped she succeeded well enough. "Fate's got it out for me. But I'm here for today, so..."

He turned away and continued walking, but at a quicker pace. "It doesn't matter, you might as well leave now." His voice was flat, indifferent, uninterested...

Her breathing increased nervously and she tried to catch up and reached for his hand, "Klaus, I don't want to but-"

"If you didn't want to you'd stay!" He turned and glared down at her with his icy blue eyes.

**"Just leave, we don't need you."**

His words pierced her heart. She knew it was true, they really didn't need her. They could definitely do this, without her, but it still stung. She watched him disappear into the programming room, the door closing behind him. She bit her lip and considered returning to her room for the remainder of her time there. It was very tempting, just run away and soon she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore; but she knew she'd regret that. She steeled herself and went to make some coffee before joining her team.

[**Author's note:** I'm sorry it took so long, thank you for your patience! I'm afraid I might still have some edits, but I really wanted to post this chapter so please enjoy.]


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